Electric-tube lighting.



No. 702,321. Patented lune lo, 1902.

ff 0.1m. Moons.

ELECTRIC TIIBE LIGHTING.

(Applicationled May 7, 1902.) (No ModeI.)

- UNrrEn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIELMCFARLAN MOORE, OF NEWARK, NEV JERSEY.

ELECTRIC-TUBE LIGHTING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 702,321, dated J une10, 1902.

Original application iiled December 18,1901, Serial No. 86,358. Dividedand this application filed May 7, 1902. Serial l No.106,322. (No model.)

.To LZ/f wil/0m it may concern:

Be it known that I,"DANIEL MCFARLAN MOORE, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Newark, in the county of Essex and State ofNew Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inElectric-Tube Lighting, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to the novel system of electric lightingdescribed in my prior application, `Serial No. 86,358, iiled December18, 1901, and having forits object the avoidance of electric conductorsfor distributing the electrical energy to the lamps or light-givingportions of the system, and to thereby permit the illumination ofbuildings and contained areas without the presence of conducting `wiresor circuits of copper distributed through the building or the roomsthereof. 4

In my prior application I have described a system in whicha translucenttube containing a gaseous luminous column or body and provided withproper energy-supplying terminals is distributed or run over the areas,spaces, or rooms to be lighted, the terminals of said tube beingAbrought to the source of energy outside of said areas or spaces or in alocation where the said terminals may be suit--V ably protected againstdanger of contact or accidental interference, said tube containing a gaswhich is of such character or degree of rarefaction that by theapplication of electric energy or current to the terminals of the tubeit will be rendered luminous by the transfer of the energy from oneterminal or electrode to the other.

My present invention relates to the prac- In the accompanying drawings,Figure 1 illustrates in skeleton perspective a system of lightingheretofore employed by me and shows a room or space of considerable areailluminated by a number of lighting-tubes. Fig. 2 illustrates inskeleton my improved system of illumination to which my presentinvention is applicable.

Referring to Fig. 1, the area to be lighted is shown as illuminated bymeans of twentylive tubes, the visible or illuminating portion of eachof which is indicated by the numeral 2, while 3 indicates the conductingcaps or terminals, (shown in dotted lines,) which with lamps of theparticular kind heretofore invented byme are applied to the exterior ofthe tube at the ends thereof and furnish to the gaseous contentselectricenergy for causing the same to emit luminous radiations. The said tubesare supplied with energy by means of distributing-wires 1l, which extendover the area to be lighted and are connected through suitable iixtures30 with the conducting caps or electrodes at the terminals of saidtubes.

As will be obvious, in this system there are a large number of terminalxtures and of individual lighting devices, each of which has'a number ofterminal electrodes consuming electrical energy in the work oftransferring energy to the gaseous contents to be rendered luminous.Moreover, in such a system a large portion of the total gaseous columnis inclosed in the conducting cap or electrode, so that its luminosityis obscured and is not available for any useful purpose.

The system ras shown has other advantages in respect to the large numberof xtures necessary, which add to the cost and also in the fact that thevoltage for exciting the tubes is distributed through the room orapartment to be illuminated, which is objectionable, particularly withhighvoltages, on account of fire risks and for other lreasons, as wellunderstood in the art of electric lighting.

In my improved system I take advantage of the fact that an increase ofthe length of the visible luminous column in a lamp wherein theillumination is produced by exciting through electric energy the gaseouscontents of a tube gives a practically corresponding increase in theefficiency of the lamp, or, in other words, secures a verygreatly-increased total illuminating capacity for practically the sametotal expenditure of electrical energy.

Fig. 2 shows in skeleton an apartment or interior illuminated by such atube extending around the sides thereof and terminating at 5 in asuitable Wall pocket or box, where it is provided with conducting capsor terminals of sufficient size to supply the requisite amount of energyrequired for giving a density of light of the desired amount and whereit is in direct connection with the source of energy-supply.. The sourceof energy-supply is here shown as the secondary of a suitable statictransformer 6, the primary of which is supplied from mains 7, which maybe street-mains extending from a su'itable power-house and thereconnected with a source of alternating currents.

By means of the transformer a voltage of any desired amount may beobtained for the excitation of the tubes, suchvoltage being dependentupon the density of illumination required for each unit of length of thetube, the size of the conducting-caps, the nature of the gaseouscontents, and other factors.

In installing the ligh t-giving device lengths of glass tubing of suchdimensions longitudinally as will permit the same to be readily handledare joined together end to end, by fusing or otherwise, in the positionwhich the illu minating-tube is to occupy when installed. In otherwords, said tube is built up, installed, and distributed through thespaces to be illuminated in much the same manner as a distributing-wirewould be installed for the purpose of supplying the tubes of Fig. l, theonly difference being that on account of the size, fragility, and wantof flexibility in the glass tube it is necessary to construct it insections and n situ. A flexible translucent tube of such constructionthat could be coiled and strung in position throughout the spaces to beilluminated would serve fully the purpose of my invention; but forpresent commercial practice it is best to use rigid lengths of tube andto fuse them together end to' end. They may, however, be joined end toend in other ways.

When the tube contains a gas or vapor whose tension requires to beartificially modiiied, or, in other words, a gas which may need to havea particular degree of rarefaction or gaseous tension, it may beprovided at some portion of its length convenient of access with anipple, such as indicated at 10, for the application of a properexhaust-pump; also,if desirable, such nipples may be located at otherpointsfor the use of an exhaust-pump or for the introduction of desiredmaterials into the tubes. They afford means whereby also the contents ofthe tube maybe renewed as desired or the desired tension of vapor withinthe same restablished in case it should depart from the normal orcritical density or tension best suited for the production of light.After the installation of the tube in the manner described the materialsto be introduced into the tube and from which the gaseous column isproduced are injected at the nipples l0 at various points. A suitableexhaust-pump is then applied to one end of the tube and the materialscaused to distribute themselves by the suction thereof, or in some casesI may proceed by exhausting the tube and then injecting the material,which will automatically distribute itself throughout the same by thesuction.

In a lamp of the construction wherein the energy is supplied by exteriorcaps or terminals the major portion of the consumption of energy takesplace in the transfer of energy from the cap through the sealing glasswall of the contents. It is, however, desirable for obvious reasons touse glass tubing` of considerable thickness for those portions of thetube which are exposed.

In the foregoing description I have assumed that the lamp is one whereinthe gaseous column is excited to luminosity by energy sup-v pliedthrough exterior caps or conductors, this being the form which it ispreferable to employ, inasmuch as no interior pieces of metal existwhich are liable in use to give od occluded gases, and to thus interferewith the proper operation of the lamp. My invention, however, is notconfined to this class of lamp, and the system may evidently be realizedwith lamps having other kinds of terminals.

By my improved system of lighting I am enabled to dispense with the useof distributing-Wiring through buildings or rooms, to install the lightat much less cost than by the present incandescent system, to dispensewith the use of armored piping or conduit and junction boxes ormoldings, fixtures, porcelain fuse cut-outs, fiexible cords, sockets,and other lighting appliances now used for incandescent house-lighting.Moreover, as compared with the system before used by me, wherein tubesof, say, seven to eight feet in length are employed, at least forty percent. less tubing is required, owing to the fact that a great totallength ot' conducting-caps or other metals or parts obscuring theilluminating-column is dispensed with. For example, if a givenillumination in a room emanates from twenty-five tubes the electricityis transferred to and from the gas at fifty places, while if one longtube is used it is transferred at only two places. The absence of capsand fixtures is also of l advantage from artistic standpoint, because itpermits a practically unbroken or continuous line of light around thearea to be lighted, thus realizing the object sought for in electricilluminationnamely, a perfect diffusion of light.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. The herein-described improvement inelectric-tube lighting, consisting in installing a translucent tube andthen introducing into the same while in place the gaseous agent which isto be rendered luminous and then IOO IIO

exhausting the tube to secure the desired rarefaction of its contents.

2. The herein-described improvement in treating a translucent tubedesigned to contain a luminous gas rendered luminous by electriccurrents, consisting in introducing the desired chemicals at diierentpoints along the tube and exhausting at the end to secure a thorough anduniform distribution of Ithe chemical, as and for the purpose described.

3. The herein-described improvement in electric-tube lighting,consisting in installing a translucent tube, exhausting the tube andthen introducing into the samethe material from which the gaseous agentis evolved.

4. The herein-described improvement in electrictube lighting, consistingin iirst installing a translucent tube, then exhausting the tube, andfinally admitting the gaseous agent.

5. The herein-described improvement in electric-tube lighting,consisting in building up a length of tubing in sections with airtightjoints and distributed over the areas to be lighted the end sections ofsaid tube being provided with suitable conducting-terminals, and afterthe building up of said tube in place, suitably exhaustingjor treatingthe same so that the gaseous contents may .be rendered luminous by theapplication of electrical energy to the caps or terminals.

6. The herein-describedimprovement in electric-tube lighting, consistingin rstinstalling a translucent tube in sections connected by air-tightjoints andnally exhausting the tube in place, as and for the purpose setforth. p

Signed at Neur York, in the county of New York and State of New York,this Gth day of May, A. D. 1902.

DANIEL MCFARLAN MOORE.

Witnesses:

J. GALLWITZ, i E. L. LAWLER.

